January 15, 2016

TO:Deans, Directors and Chairs

FROM:Judith A. Ramey

Professor Emeritus, Human Centered Design & Engineering; and Chair, Royalty Research Fund

RE:Royalty Research Fund and
Royalty Research Fund Scholar Applications

This is to announce the Spring 2016 round of the Royalty Research Fund (RRF). Proposals are due Monday, March 7, by 5:00 PM. Awards will be announced by June 15, 2016.

Unlike agency-funded grants, RRF grants arenotawarded to supplement or continue existing successful research programs. The purpose of the Royalty Research Fund (RRF) is to advance new directions in research, particularly:

  1. in disciplines for which external funding opportunities are minimal, and/or
  2. for faculty who are junior in rank, and/or
  3. in cases where funding may provide unique opportunities to increase applicants’ competitiveness for subsequent funding.

Proposals must demonstrate a high probability of generating important new creativeactivities or scholarly understandings, new scholarly materials or resources, significant data or information, or essential instrumentation resources that are likely to significantly advance the reputation of the university, lead to external funding, or lead to developing a new technology. Proposals should include well-justified budgets of less than $40,000.

We also continue to seek proposals for the Royalty Research Fund Scholar program to support faculty release time for one quarter in conjunction with support of a meritorious research proposal. RRF Scholar applicants must teach four or more "regular and substantial courses per year." Independent study and dissertation supervision are not included in these courses, as the intent is to release the faculty from the responsibility of classroom preparation time and in-class hours to concentrate on scholarly activities. While we expect most RRF Scholar proposals to come from the arts, humanities and social sciences, all qualifying faculty are eligible to apply. RRF Scholar proposals include funds for a teaching replacement, and may also include a modest budget for other project expenses.

All proposals will be peer reviewed through one of the three Royalty Research Fund Review Committees. The evaluators are faculty colleagues and therefore will not necessarily be specialists in the applicant’s subfield. Thought should be given, therefore, to crafting the proposal so that a wider audience may understand it. Although technical field-specific information will be expected, the major features of the proposal should also be accessible to non-specialists.

The Royalty Research Fund is made possible by income generated from royalties and licensing fees derived from intellectual property created by University faculty. No funds recovered through indirect costs are used for the RRF.

Proposals are due the last Monday in September and the first Monday in March. Please inform your faculty about this opportunity. Proposals from all disciplines are welcome.

The RRF proposal submission and review process is electronic - all proposals must be submitted using SAGE (System to Administer Grants Electronically). Briefly, the RRF application consists of an eGC1 (electronic Grant and Contracts Form 1, created online in SAGE), the proposal documents, and the suggested reviewers memo. The proposal documents are gathered into a single PDF file and attached electronically to the eGC1. The completed application is then routed electronically to all of the individuals that need to approve the proposal (Chairs, Directors and Deans). It is then automatically routed to RRF staff who review the proposal for adherence to instructions/program rules. The suggested reviewers memo is submitted separately to a special email account; this completes the submission process.

In our ongoing efforts to improve service, the RRF program continues to evolve and there are changes to the rules and/or application instructions each round. Therefore, please advise your faculty and staff that it is essential that applicants thoroughly read and carefully follow all instructions each round. Proposals that do not adhere to the guidelines will be returned for immediate correction and resubmission if time permits; otherwise, they will not be considered eligible for funding. Additionally, it is the applicants’ responsibility to find out how much lead time is required by each unit which needs to approve their proposal, through the Dean’s level. We strongly encourage all applicants to monitor the progress of their application throughout the approval process. Applications not fully approved by the RRF deadline will not be accepted – NO EXCEPTIONS.

The RRF application instructions, including specific directions for completing the eGC1, are currently available at the Office of Research web site located at:

Please don’t hesitate to contact the RRF administrative staff if you have questions about the program; new applicants should contact Peter Wilsnack, , (685-9316)and existing awardees should contact Barbara Thompson, (616-9089). Questions about SAGE and the eGC1 should be directed to the SAGE help desk, , (685-8335).

Please forward this information to all interested parties.

cc:Amanda Snyder, Office of Sponsored Programs

Carol Rhodes, Office of Sponsored Programs

Michael Rosenfeld, Faculty Council on Research

Norm Beauchamp, Faculty Senate

Vicky Palm, Arts and Sciences

Grant and Funding Information Service